1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric power generation control apparatus and an electric power generation control system equipped with this apparatus. The electric power generation control apparatus is capable of controlling the amount of generated electric power of an electric power generation means. The electric power generation means generates the electric power by rotational power or force supplied through an output shaft of an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle. The present invention also relates to a navigation system, mounted to a motor vehicle, which operates accompanied with the electric power generation control apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been proposed the technique disclosed by the Japanese patent laid open publication No. JP 2003-95042. The technique disclosed in JP 2003-95042 sets a voltage of electric power to be generated based on information relating to a driving path or road transferred from a navigation system. In a concrete example, when the navigation system mounted to a motor vehicle provides the information about an expressway on which the motor vehicle would drive in the future after passing through an urban area, the electric power generation control apparatus receives the information, and sets the voltage of electric power generation in order to allow the battery to discharge a specified amount of electric power while the motor vehicle drives in the urban area, wherein this specific amount of electric power would be charged when the motor vehicle would drive on an expressway in the future. This enables the amount of generated electrical power to be decreased while the motor vehicle drives in the urban area. It is thereby possible to decrease the total fuel consumption of the motor vehicle.
In general, there is no simple relationship between the voltage of electric power generation in a vehicular alternator (or an engine-driven generator) and the amount of fuel injected into cylinders of an internal combustion engine of the motor vehicle. Accordingly, it is difficult to correctly know or predict an increased amount of fuel consumption caused by the electrical power generation of the vehicle alternator based on the voltage set by the electric power generation control apparatus. In other words, it is difficult to correctly judge how much the fuel consumption has increased accompanied with the electrical power generation of the vehicle alternator when the electric power generation control apparatus sets the voltage of electric power to be generated based on the information of the driving path or road.
The information is not accurate enough for the electric power control apparatus to effectively decrease the amount of fuel consumption caused by the generation of electrical power. There is only a rough anticipation that the electric power generation control apparatus merely decreases the increased amount of fuel consumption accompanied with the electrical power generation.